How does culture influence our lives?

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Culture influences people’s lives in many ways, including where they decide to stay, what they do, their perception of education, what employment they consider suitable, their behaviors, their accent, what they read or what they do for entertainment. In addition, culture has a huge impact on human lives in regard to what people wear, say or find humorous. Culture also affects how the human brain responds to different stimuli.

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Culture refers to the characteristics of a particular group of people, including their language, cuisine, social habits, religion, music and arts. It is a people’s way of life. Different groups of people have their own ways of doing things. Through culture, people develop a sense of belonging, personal growth and the capacity to empathize and associate with others. Whereas European American culture stresses individual independence, Asian culture emphasizes more on interdependence and is more sensitive to social contexts. The European Americans are, therefore, more likely to account for an individual’s behavior by making assumptions about his or her personality, while Asians are less likely.

The social environment, including many cultural factors that impinge on development, can affect functioning of the brain. On the other hand, direct benefits of a dynamic culture include self-esteem, well-being, health, skills development, economic gains and social capital. Creative industries and enterprises constitute useful elements in the provincial or national economy of a country. A state’s historic and contemporary buildings, monuments, museums, libraries, sacred places, burial sites, archaeology and artifacts are important aspects of culture and heritage.